novelcrest Chapter 477 The Badger with a Clever Pretext
Chapter 477 The Badger with a Clever Pretext
Chapter 477 The Badger with a Clever Pretext
Lee Jordan was completely absorbed in the situation at hand, and his speech became faster and faster.
He charged toward the golden egg again, watching how he changed his flight path! Every move Harry made was pushing the limits! Oh!
Another precise turn!
Harry's heart pounded in his chest like drumsticks.
All I could hear was the sound of the wind and Lee Jordan's excited commentary; it was as if the world had frozen in that moment.
He could almost feel the golden egg shimmering in his hand; it was only an arm's length away. But then, the dragon arrived!
Harry leaned slightly forward, adjusting his flight path to avoid the head of the horned dragon's rapid pursuit, the scorching air whizzing past the broom behind him.
"One more time," Harry thought to himself.
His gaze was fixed on the golden egg, which was right in front of him, so close yet so far.
The audience watched as Harry's body traced a perfect arc in the air with the movement of his broom, flying faster and faster.
Lee Jordan's voice rang out again: "He changed his flight angle again! Absolutely genius! Look at Harry's movements, he's leaving absolutely no room for error!"
Harry is close to the final step of getting the golden egg.
He felt his fingers trembling slightly, and there was a chill in the air. The broom seemed to be a little unstable under the intense pressure, but he did not stop.
"Harry Potter! The golden egg is right there! His hand is almost touching it!" Jordan's voice ripped through the air like a high note. "This game is destined to go down in history!"
In an instant, Harry's fingers finally touched the gleaming golden egg—a powerful force pulled him backward, nearly ripping off the end of his broom and causing him to lose his balance. But he held on tightly to the egg, looked down, and could hardly believe the moment had arrived.
"I did it," he murmured, his voice almost drowned out by the wind.
He glimpsed the longhorn still chasing frantically, but at this moment, it was no longer so threatening.
His gaze shifted from the golden egg to the audience below—their cheers nearly shattered the entire stands, and every face was filled with excitement and disbelief.
Harry put away the golden egg and slowly flew back to the field.
"This is where I truly belong," he whispered, almost to himself.
A moment later, Harry landed gently.
"That was brilliant, Potter!" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out, brimming with undisguised excitement—for her, this was the highest praise imaginable. Harry noticed her hand, pointing to his shoulder, trembled slightly. "Before the judges' scores..."
You need to go find Mrs. Pomfrey—she's right there, Diggory already needs her care—"
"You did it, Harry!" Hagrid's gruff voice came from beside him. "You did it!"
Professor Moody also seemed very happy; his magical eye kept darting around in its socket, and he appeared unusually excited.
"That was a beautiful and decisive move, Potter," he said in his deep voice.
"Alright, Potter, please hurry to the first aid tent—" Professor McGonagall urged.
Harry walked out of the arena, still panting.
He saw Mrs. Pomfrey standing at the entrance to the second tent, her face filled with anxiety.
"Dragon!" she said in a disgruntled tone, pulling Harry inside.
The tent was divided into several small compartments, and Harry could see the figures of several warriors through the canvas.
The Cedric he knew wasn't seriously injured; at least he was able to sit up.
Madam Pomfrey examined Harry's shoulder carefully, grumbling angrily, "Last year it was a Dementor, this year a dragon, what kind of monster will they bring into this school next? You're lucky—the wound is shallow—but it still needs to be cleaned before we treat you—"
She cleaned his wound with a strange, smoking purple liquid that almost made Harry wince at the smell. Then, she gently poked Harry's shoulder with her wand, and the wound healed instantly, almost without any pain.
"Alright," Madam Pomfrey finally put down her wand, "sit quietly for a minute! Then you can go see your score."
Meanwhile, Sean had already returned to the stands.
Hermione noticed that Sean wasn't sitting alone this time; Professor Tonks was also beside him.
She sat between the two men, clearly separating them, seemingly intentionally.
Hermione frowned slightly, sensing that something seemed amiss, but she didn't dwell on it and focused on her upcoming assessment.
Shortly after, the referee's voice came from afar: "Contestants, are you ready? The scores will be announced soon!"
The score was not much different from what was expected.
First was Mrs. Maxim, who raised her wand high, and a silver ribbon of light shot out from it, swirling to form a large "8".
The score has been announced, and the scene is calm.
Next was Crouch, who waved his wand and a clear "9" appeared in the air, indicating that the score was clear.
Then came Dumbledore, who gave it a nine out of ten.
Cheers erupted from the audience, who were eager to hear Dumbledore's assessment and also acknowledged Harry's performance.
Next up is Ludo Bagman – 10 points!
This point almost immediately drew applause and cheers from the stands, and Bagman's smile grew even brighter, as if he was very satisfied with Harry's performance.
At that moment, Karkaroff also raised his wand.
He paused for a moment, as if weighing his decision.
Then, his wand emitted a number—"4". The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat quiet—
No one expected Karkaroff to give such a low score.
Sean did not participate in this rating.
The reason, of course, is that Tonks cannot rely on Polyjuice Potion to sit in the judges' seat, next to Dumbledore and the others, under the spotlight.
Admittedly, this is already a good result.
After the last warrior finished, the score leaderboard was as follows:
First place: Selena Shakkel (47 points)
Second place: Viktor Krum (42 points)
Third place: Harry Potter (40 points)
Fourth place: Fleur Delacroix (37 points)
Fifth place: Qiu Zhang (35 points)
Sixth place, Cedric Diggory (32 points)
The remaining three warriors, including Erin, failed the first task, so their scores were zero.
When faced with the ferocious dragon, they quickly realized they were no match for it and gave up after a brief attempt.
In this situation, anyone can understand their decision, and no one will blame them for it.
After the game, all the warriors, including Shawn, and the referees were led into the tent.
"You all did a great job!" Ludo Bagman exclaimed excitedly, leaping lightly into the tent as if he, not the competitors, had just traversed the perilous dragon's lair. "Alright, I only have a few words to say."
"The second project will begin at 9:30 a.m. on February 24th next year. You can rest for a long time before then—however, we have some questions for you to consider!"
"Look down at those golden eggs you're holding. You'll find they can be opened—see the seam there? You must unravel the clues inside—it will tell you what the second project is. Ready? Understand? No problems? Okay, you can go!"
His words were brief, so brief that they were somewhat puzzling.
When Cho Chang came to his senses again, he was holding the golden egg in his arms, and in front of him was the door to the Ravenclaw common room.
As soon as the door opened, cheers and commotion erupted. The tables and chairs were piled high with cakes, and several jugs of pumpkin juice and butterbeer steamed around the table, filling the air with a sweet aroma.
"Wow, Cho Chang! You're amazing!" Wenger, his roommate, jumped out from the crowd, his face beaming with excitement. "I never thought you could succeed!"
Qiu Zhang smiled slightly, looking around at the lively scene with a bit of a daze. "Everyone is so happy—I'm actually still a little nervous." She held the golden egg, feeling that it was a few pounds heavier than before.
"Nervous? You've done such a perfect job, who would dare say you can't do it!" Wenger patted her shoulder and said with considerable pride.
To be honest, Qiu Zhang wasn't sure how he had passed his first project.
First that, then that, and then this... and that was it. Even the flying spell she had been practicing so diligently had no effect.
Even so, what's past is past.
Today is a day to celebrate!
Meanwhile, the celebratory atmosphere in the Hufflepuff common room was somewhat different, even resembling a country feast.
Unlike the orderly celebrations of Ravenclaw, this was more like a lively, buffet-style feast.
The Hufflepuff classmates didn't seem to care much about Cedric's grades—for them, passing was all that mattered. They focused their celebrations on the food, especially the side dishes they had made themselves.
If they had ever attended a rural banquet, they might better understand the atmosphere—in short, their way of celebrating is not much different from a rural banquet.
If you had to find a difference, it would be the difference in cuisine. The Hufflepuff badgers seem to never have a fixed recipe; every dish is a "long-treasured, self-created recipe."
Moreover, almost everyone's plate was filled with all sorts of food, from pies that looked like they were made by magic to various mysterious stews, and the entire common room was filled with a strange aroma.
Perhaps, for these little badgers—
Celebrating Cedric's first project was merely a "nominal" gesture.
A "pretext" that would allow them to showcase their culinary skills and exchange ideas.
Meanwhile, the celebrations in the Gryffindor common room were somewhat different.
This is the domain of the little lions, especially the Weasley twins, who celebrate Harry's victory not with food, but with their pranks and gadgets.
The two seemed to have been prepared in advance, showing off one after another various smoke bombs, fireworks, and a bunch of strange "celebration props," turning the entire lounge into a small magic performance arena in an instant.
"Look, this is our latest magic skateboard!" George excitedly held up a glowing board. "Just stand on it and it will take you flying!" He leaped on, and a burst of flame immediately shot out from the skateboard, causing the people around to scream and be instantly enveloped in thick smoke.
Lee Jordan lit several pyrotechnic sparklers nearby, and the sparks and flecks in the air added a lively atmosphere to the room.
Dean Thomas, who was skilled at drawing, also got busy. He hung up several eye-catching new banners, most of which depicted Harry riding a fire bolt, flying and weaving through the dangers of a horned dragon.
Of course, there are also some... which are their self-portraits.
Harry sat down and ate the food he had taken from the table.
In these days, he has almost forgotten the feeling of hunger.
"Good heavens, this is quite heavy," Lee Jordan picked up the golden egg Harry had placed on the table, weighing it in his hands. "Quick, open it, Harry! Let's see what's inside!"
"Yes, open it quickly! Let's see what's hidden inside!" Several people responded one after another.
Harry smiled helplessly, handed the golden egg back to himself, and carefully used his fingernail to pry open the eggshell through the grooves.
However, as soon as the eggshell was opened, the room was instantly filled with a sharp, piercing scream, as if some soul was howling in extreme pain.
The sound was so shrill it was unbearable. Harry had heard something similar at Nick's near-headless death anniversary party—the noise of the Ghost Band playing a saw.
"Turn it off!" Fred screamed, covering his ears with his hands.
Harry quickly slammed the golden egg shut, and the violent screams instantly disappeared.
"What the hell is that?" Seamus Finnigan frowned, staring at the golden egg. "It sounds like a ghost—Harry, next time you might have to walk past a ghost!"
"It sounds like someone's being tortured!" Neville said, his face pale, the sausages in his hands falling to the ground. "You're definitely facing the Cruciatus Curse!"
“Don’t talk nonsense, Neville, that’s illegal.” George shook his head. “They can’t cast the Cruciatus Curse on a contestant. I think the voice sounded a bit like Percy singing—maybe you’ll have to ambush him while he’s taking a shower, Harry.”
"Would you like a slice of your favorite blueberry and chive pie, Harry?"
Harry paused for a moment, looking at the pie with a puzzled expression.
Blueberry and chive pie?
I don't know when it started, but his favorite food has become this.
Last semester, or the semester before that?
To be honest, no matter how he explained to others that he didn't like to eat this, they never believed him.
So he didn't say anything, but simply took the pie and placed it on the table to the side.
Meanwhile, in Sean's office, there was also a celebration for the first project.
There was only one participant.
Luna.
More precisely, it's Tonks who becomes Luna.